Storybrooke (Once Upon a Time Series)
Storybrooke, Maine is a Land Without Magic location featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It first appears in the first episode of the first season of Once Upon a Time. History During First Curse In the Enchanted Forest, the Evil Queen cast a Dark Curse, which sends all of the inhabitants to a newly created town in a Land Without Magic called Storybrooke. The curse, prophesied by Rumplestiltskin, can be broken in twenty-eight years by Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter Emma. To protect their infant daughter, a magic wardrobe is constructed that brings her to another land just before all of the Enchanted Forest is engulfed in the curse. In a secret deal with the Blue Fairy, Geppetto guarantees his own son, Pinocchio, is one of the two to be saved. Both children end up in the Land Without Magic and are placed in the same foster home, but Pinocchio later abandons Emma. ("Pilot") In the days after the curse is enacted, the Evil Queen lives as the mayor of Storybrooke, Regina, and while at first pleased with the other residents' miseries, she grows bored with her new life. One flaw in creating Storybrooke is it becomes visible to outsiders, and when two strangers, Kurt and Owen, arrive in town, Regina attempts to usher their leaving. Eventually, she takes a liking to Owen and wishes for him to stay, although Kurt refuses. Through her manipulation, Sheriff Graham arrests Kurt, who flees Storybrooke with his son, however, they are caught at the town border. While Kurt surrenders himself, Owen escapes town, with Regina's permission. Later, she kills Kurt and buries him in the woods. ("Welcome to Storybrooke") Eighteen years later, Regina adopts a baby boy, who she names Henry. When he shows signs of possible illness, she sleuths for information on his birth parents, eventually learning his birth mother is Emma Swan, the prophesied savior. After deciding to keep Henry as her son, Regina drinks a memory potion to forget his birth mother's identity. ("Save Henry") Henry, at ten years old, gains a fairytale book from his teacher as a means to inspire hope in his life. Within its pages, he finds a photo of Snow White and Prince Charming's infant daughter and mysteriously realizes her name is Emma. Coming to believe Storybrooke is under the Evil Queen's curse, Henry brings Emma to Storybrooke, and she later stays in town out of concern for his happiness. With her arrival, the curse gradually weakens and time begins to move forward again. After a few days, Emma becomes a sheriff's deputy, and after the sheriff's death, she gains her predecessor's job. As sheriff, she is unknowingly reuniting people who would otherwise be separated due to the curse's effects. ("Going Home", "Pilot", "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter") The town becomes rocked by a scandal when Mary Margaret's affair with David is made public. Kathryn, David's wife, opts to allow them to be together as she decides to leave for Boston. Regina, unwilling to let the lovers be happy, sets up Mary Margaret for Kathryn's death, leading to her arrest when evidence is found. With help from August, Emma figures out Regina's plot, just before Kathryn is found alive after being secretly freed by Mr. Gold. To make Emma accept her role as curse savior, August attempts to make her believe in magic, but she refuses. Believing Regina is dangerous, Emma then tries leaving town with Henry, but the boy persuades her out of it. Regina, on the other hand, extracts a poisoned apple from the past Enchanted Forest, in a bid to get rid of Emma. However, Henry ends up eating it, falling into a coma, and later dying. In a final farewell, Emma kisses his forehead, accidentally emitting true love's kiss, which breaks his curse as well as the Dark Curse. As everyone regains memories of their past lives, Mr. Gold combines a bottle of true love, Mr. Gold combines it with well water to bring magic into Storybrooke. ("What Happened to Frederick", "Red-Handed", "The Stable Boy", "The Stranger", "An Apple Red as Blood") After First Curse August sends Neal a postcard from Storybrooke. The purple fog clears, and Mary Margaret and David reunite as Snow White and Prince Charming and finally meet their daughter Emma. Meanwhile, Mr. Gold, who is fierce because Regina kept Belle in psychiatric ward for 28 years, summon a Wraith to have Regina suck by it. To stop it from destroying Storybrooke, Regina, Emma, Mary Margaret and David reunite and try to send it to Enchanted Forest through Jefferson's Hat. The hat does not work until Emma touches Regina. The Wraith is sucked in while grabbing Emma and forcing her into the vortex. Mary Margaret jumps in after her. David and Regina are left behind. ("Broken") In the fallowing days, David and Henry try to find a way to bring back Emma and Mary Margaret. While they deal with Hook, who wants to kill Mr. Gold for killing his love, and Cora who wants to get back to her daughter, thanks to Aurora, she and Henry can communicate in Netherworld because they were both under the sleeping curse once and this is a side affect. In Storybrooke, Mr. Gold doesn't want Cora to come back because he thinks she is a threat for everyone but Regina believes in Henry about Emma and Mary Margaret coming in here instead of Cora. So with the help of Regina, they come back to Storybrooke. But in the meantime, Hook and Cora found a way to get to Storybrooke, too. And his ship sails through the gloom with Cora aboard. ("Queen of Hearts", "We Are Both", "The Crocodile", "Tallahassee", "Into the Deep") After Regina was suspected for killing Archie, which in the reality Cora disguised herself as Regina and killed someone else and make him look like Archie; Emma, Mary Margaret and David do not believe Regina so with that way Cora gets what she wants. İn the meantime Mr. Gold wants to find his son. With the help of Emma's unpaid favor, she, Henry and Mr. Gold head to New York City. However, they find out that Mr. Gold's son Baelfire is also Henry's father Neal. ("The Price of Gold", "The Cricket Game", "Tiny", "Manhattan") While they are still in New York, Hook found them and stabs Mr. Gold with his poison laced hook. The only way to save Mr. Gold's life is to get back to Storybrooke as soon as possible. Emma receives news from Mary Margaret and David via phone about Regina and Cora's search for the dagger. After they come back to Storybrooke, the war begins and Cora gets closer to stab Mr. Gold with the dagger and become the new Dark One. As Mr. Gold manipulates Mary Margaret to kill Cora with the enchanted candle that could restore Mr. Gold's life by taking Cora's, she immediately regrets for what she did. However, Cora dies before Mary Margaret is able to do something. ("The Queen Is Dead", "The Miller's Daughter") The outsider who entered Storybrooke a few days ago comes more suspicious. Meanwhile , Neal invites her fiance Tamara to Storybrooke so she can properly meet and speak with Emma and Henry. Greg had a run-in with Regina at the diner. She cannot seem to understand why he is so familiar to her, but shows up at his guest room with the realization he is Owen. Demanding to know where his father is, Regina plays it off that she let Kurt leave town and never saw him again. He doesn't believe her. Before August reverted back to child, he was trying to warn them about a woman which they'll find later that this woman is Tamara and Greg and Tamara work together for Home Office and they came to Storybrooke to get rid of the magic but then realized something more valuable : Henry. In the meantime Tamara shoots Neal and with the magic bean he goes back to the Enchanted Forest. As Greg and Tamara take Henry to Neverland; Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Mr. Gold and Hook set on a mission to rescue Henry. ("The Outsider", "Welcome to Storybrooke", "Selfless, Brave and True", "And Straight On 'Til Morning") After they went, the residents of Storybrooke activate a cloaking spell, which Mr. Gold gave it to Belle just before he leaves, around the city limits; however, two mysterious strangers arriving from Minnesota in a convertible manage to cross the town border just in time. ("And Straight On 'Til Morning", "Dark Hollow" Five days later, a mermaid known as Ariel emerges from the ocean. She has been sent on a mission by Mr. Gold, to retrieve a magical weapon from his pawnshop. Ariel seeks out Belle, and together, they find what Ariel is looking for: Pandora's Box. Before Ariel is able to leave with the item, the two strangers, who are revealed to be John and Michael Darling, overpower the women and steals Pandora's Box from them. Fortunately, Ariel and Belle are able to break free, just in time to stop the brothers from destroying Gold's weapon. After she hears their story, Belle convinces the brothers that the box is the only way to stop Peter Pan and free their sister, Wendy Darling, who has been Pan's prisoner for over a century. Ariel leaves for Neverland, taking Pandora's Box with her. ("Dark Hollow") As Ariel returns to Storybrooke and reunite with her true love, Henry and rest of crew return From Neverland. Unbeknown to them, Peter Pan switched his body with Henry who is now trapped inside Pandora's Box along the way. When they realize that Henry is actually Peter Pan, they head to Regina's Heart Vault where Mr. Gold notices something is missing : The Dark Curse. Shortly afterward, Pan activates it with the heart of the thing he loves most. Regina learns that in order to undo Pan's curse, she must destroy the scroll. Mr. Gold manages to return Henry and Pan to their respective bodies, by using the wand of the Black Fairy. However, Pan has one last trick up his sleeve, and quickly overpowers Gold. In order to save his family, Gold kills his father by stabbing him with the Dark One's Dagger, sacrificing his own life in the process. As Pan's curse approaches, Regina realizes that destroying the scroll comes at a heavy price: Storybrooke will be erased from the map, and everyone will be transported back to the Enchanted Forest, prevented from ever returning — except Emma and Henry. At the town border, Emma and Henry say their goodbyes to their friends and family. Regina tells Emma that when the curse is undone, the memories Emma and Henry have from Storybrooke will be gone. She gives Emma a gift: New memories of a happy life, where Emma never gave up Henry for adoption, so they'll have always been together. Emma and her son drive across the town border just as the magic fog closes in on their family. Storybrooke vanishes from the world.2 ("The New Neverland", "Going Home") During Second Curse After a year, Snow White recasts the Dark Curse, bringing everyone back to Storybrooke, but due to the Wicked Witch's machinations, they forget the past year in the Enchanted Forest. The only clue, as proof a year has gone by, is Mary Margaret's pregnancy. The Wicked Witch, brought along by the curse, blends into town as a midwife named Zelena. In her farm cellar, she keeps a revived Mr. Gold as her prisoner. Through some means, she also causes some of the townspeople to vanish and turns them into her pet monkeys. Regaining her lost memories with Hook's aid, Emma returns to town, where she teams up with Regina to sleuth out the curse caster, who manages to escape before they apprehend her. After David and Hook witness someone turning into a flying monkey, it is believed the Wicked Witch cast the new curse. ("New York City Serenade", "Witch Hunt") Zelena, desiring to change her past with a time spell, requires several ingredients; Mary Margaret's child, David's courage, Regina's heart and Mr. Gold's brain. After Zelena collects David's courage, Mr. Gold escapes and reverts to Neal. Following recovery at the hospital, Neal helps Emma look for Mr. Gold, not knowing he and his father are in the same body. Upon realizing the truth, he begs Emma to separate him from Mr. Gold's body, although it'll kill him, so his father can reveal the Wicked Witch's true name. After being exposed, Zelena escapes and reappears at the diner during a funeral wake for Neal, where she reveals herself as Regina's half-sister and challenges her to a duel. There, she fails to steal Regina's heart, which has already been removed and placed under Robin Hood's care. Threatened by Emma's light magic, Zelena curses Hook's lips so he can take away her powers, and not if, the savior's family will die. Desperate to break the curse, Emma attempts to make Henry believe in magic by giving him the storybook. From touching it, he regains his lost memories, but it is Regina's true love for him, which breaks the curse. ("The Tower", "Quiet Minds", "It's Not Easy Being Green", "The Jolly Roger") After Second Curse After Regina broke the curse, the crew finally defeat her, remove her necklace and put her in jail. When Mr. Gold arrives the Sheriff's Station, he tells her that Neal died because of her, he promised him to have his revenge and Rumpelstilstkin never breaks a deal. He stabs her with the dagger. Her body transforms into a statue, which he shatters into pieces. Unbeknownst to him, Zelena's life force flees her body before it shatters, and activates the time spell. Afterwards, Emma and Hook sucks up by the time portal. While they try to find a way to get back to present time, they meet a woman who was almost executed by The Evil Queen. They agree with bringing her with them too. But a revised Zelena has already killed her and took her form. Later it's found that this woman is the wife of Robin Hood who is with Regina now but none of them knows that Marian is actually Zelena. She angrly pisses off Emma. In the meantime, they brought someone else from the past too. ("Kansas (Episode)", "Snow Drifts", "There's No Place Like Home", "Heart of Gold") The Ice Queen, has arrived in Storybrooke. Leaving a trail of ice behind her, she emerges from the barn and slowly makes her way into the town. Then she cast a giant ice wall all around Storybrooke until she finds her sister, Anna. The next day Emma and others find her and realize that she doesn't remember how she got here and she just looks for her sister, then they agree to help her. But The Snow Queen a.k.a. Ingrid is their big threat now. In the meantime Regina and Henry are now working together to find the author to make him to change the fate where villains always lose. After a couple of days, when Emma and Hook are watching Emma's video tape, they notice that Ingrid was Emma's foster mother and Emma does not remember any of this. In the meantime, now Gold found the Sorcerer's Hat, he plans to use it for freeing himself from the dagger with the help of Hook whose heart was ripped out by Mr. Gold. But then they realize that Ingrid is up to something : The Spell of Shattered Sight. With it, everyone will begin to see the worst in their loved ones and turn on each other, destroying themselves. After the arrival of Anna and her fiancee Kristoff, they understand that the only way this spell breaks is Ingrid's death. But with Ingrid finally seeing what her sister thought about her after Ingrid accidently killed her other sister, she realizes what she has done and sacrificed herself in order to break the spell. But before that, she gave Emma and Elsa's memory. After that Elsa, Anna and Kristoff return their home, Arendelle. ("A Tale of Two Sisters", "White Out", "Rocky Road", "The Snow Queen", "Smash the Mirror", "Fall","Shattered Sight", "Heroes and Villains") With "Marian"s sickness relapses because of Ingrid, Regina sees the only way she can live is Robin Hood, Roland and Marian leave the town. Robin kisses Regina and says goodbye to her one last time. ("Heroes and Villains") While Mr. Gold is almost achieving to get free from his dagger, Belle finds him and with the power of the dagger, she commands Mr. Gold to leave the town. ("Heroes and Villains") While Emma, Mary Margaret, Regina, Hook and Belle are trying to defeat the Chernabog who they accidently let out from the Sorcerer's Hat, Mr. Gold and Ursula reunite with Cruella De Vil. After they help the heroes about the Chernabog crisis, Emma and the others let them in to Storybrooke. But unbeknown to them, Ursula and Cruella let Mr. Gold in, too. Two days later, Mr. Gold, Ursula and Cruella team up and resurrect Maleficent from her ashes with the help of the bloods whose belong to Mary Margaret and David who wronged to Maleficent in the past by having her lose her child. After ursula reunites with her father and goes back to the Enchanted Forest, the crew understand that Mr. Gold is trying to fill Emma's heart with darkness. To stop it, they need the Author. After they free him from the book, he quickly runs away but then Mr. Gold convinces him to write a happy ending for him. With Cruella kidnapping Henry, Regina desists on the mission which rescuing Robin Hood from her sister Zelena just for now and focuses on saving Henry with Emma. After Emma kills Cruella, which means Mr. Gold gets closer to have what he wants, Emma goes with Regina to find Maleficent's daughter and also her former friend Lily. After they convince her to come back to Storybrooke, the trio head to Cassidy Apartment where Robin and "Marian" lives now. After Regina's long insestences, Zelena finally reveals herself and says that she's pregnant. The next day they all head back to Storybrooke. Emma finally forgives her parents for hiding the truth about Emma's darkness. In the meantime Lily reunites with her mother and decides to stay for a week. But at the same time, The Author, Isaac, starts to write a storybook where villans win the day. ("Darkness on the Edge of Town", "Unforgiven", "Poor Unfortunate Soul", "Best Laid Plans", "Sympathy for the De Vil") With Mother Superior's help, the Apprentice, who was sucked by the Sorcerer's Hat because of Hook who was Mr. Gold's control back then, is freed from it. In a race to stop Isaac from changing their stories, Emma, Regina and the Apprentice run to the pawnshop to confront the Author. However, Isaac rewrites new lives for everyone in his book, "Heroes and Villains", before they can stop him. Henry finds himself completely alone in Storybrooke. Desperate, he searches for his family outside of town and eventually tracks down Isaac, and learns from him that everyone is another storybook. Henry uses the door illustration key on the "Heroes and Villains storybook", and both are sucked into the story. After Henry undoes what Isaac did and reverts everything to normal, he becomes the new author, but after realizing that the power to change reality is too much for anyone to have, Henry snaps the magic quill in half. With Mr. Gold's near demise, the Apprentice absorbs the darkness in his heart and traps it in the hat, but the dark power escapes. Before the Apprentice passes out, he tells them the Sorcerer's name is Merlin and they mus find him. To save everyone, Emma allows the darkness into her body, causing her to become the new Dark One. ("Operation Mongoose Part 1", "Operation Mongoose Part 2") Inhabitants Currently in Storybrooke Formerly in Storybrooke Unseen Inhabitants Visitors Currently in Storybrooke * Gideon Formerly in Storybrooke Notable Businesses List of Notable Businesses Businesses on Main Street Other Businesses Ways to Access Storybrooke Storybrooke can be accessed by other worlds in the following ways: * Via the Land Without Magic at the Storybrooke town border ("Pilot") * Via the Underworld portal in the Heritage Park when the moon reaches its zenith every month (for a Fury) ("The Price") * By a magic wardrobe ("Tougher Than the Rest") ** Also, by using the ashes of the magic wardrobe combined with the waters of Lake Nostos (transports one to the Storybrooke Wishing Well) ("Queen of Hearts") * Also, every other way that can be used in a magical location is possible due to the location being a magical one after the First Dark Curse. (For more information, see World-crossing.) 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